DELIGHTED Darian MacKinnon took another step in his fairytale rise from Junior football to grab the winner for Hamilton with his first Premiership goal.

The 28-year-old has only been in the senior game for two years after spending most of his career playing at amateur level for hometown clubs Dumbarton United and Harp before stepping up to the Juniors with Clydebank in 2010.

So it was a massive moment for the midfielder yesterday as he grabbed his first top-flight goal with a 16th minute strike. And it was enough to earn Accies a well-deserved win that takes the Premiership new boys soaring up to third in the table.

MacKinnon said: “To come from Junior to the Premiership and get a goal at this level is a dream.

“It’s crazy to think how quickly things have changed but if I think about it too long I’ll get overawed and end up freezing, so I’ll think about it when I stop playing.

“I did think my chance of playing at the top level had gone. I was 25 when I joined Clydebank and I was just hoping someone would take a chance on me so I was just delighted when Accies came in for me.”

Hamilton looked more than comfortable in their lofty surroundings yesterday with an impressive, slick passing performance that could have earned a much bigger scoreline over a sluggish St Johnstone side who didn’t come into the game until the second half.

Having lost player-boss Alex Neil in the warm-up, Hamilton were forced to reshuffle their plans in the final minutes before kick-off but they showed no signs of being unsettled.

Aside from defender Jesus Garcia Tena earning a ninth-minute booking for fouling Saints striker Steven MacLean, Accies looked much more organised at the back than their opening-day fixture last week against Inverness Caley Thistle.

Then in 16 minutes the home side made the breakthrough thanks to a move started and finished by MacKinnon.

The midfielder set the ball rolling to Ali Crawford who in turn fed a pass out to Mickael Antoine-Curier on the right side of Saints’ box.

MacKinnon had continued his run and timed it to perfection to meet Curier’s low cutback.

Defensive heroics were required in 34 minutes from St Johnstone as they struggled to stem the tide of Hamilton’s slick passing. This time Danny Redmond’s neat through ball sent Stephen Hendrie scampering into the box to rake a clinical low finish across the keeper from a tight angle.

But back-tracking stopper Steven Anderson slid in just in time to hook it off the line.

St Johnstone tried to change things up after the break, switching the anonymous Adam Morgan with Gary McDonald, but they still found Hamilton’s pacey interplay hard to contain.

However, the woodwork saved Accies when Lee Croft released David Wotherspoon and his cutback found Anderson whose shot from eight yards shuddered the crossbar.

And on 74 minutes sub Chris Kane released MacLean in Hamilton’s box but a vital touch by Garcia Tena delayed the striker long enough for Canning to sweep in and clear the danger.

Then in the dying seconds Saints saw a Maclean shot come off the post and a penalty claim turned down as the hitman’s follow up struck the hand of Garcia Tena. It was a strong shout but this was not to be St Johnstone’s day.